Hard to explain

Everyone was busy repairing the ship. Liana scrubbed the blood off the floors, while Ronald and Kane worked on fixing the damage.

"After we fix the interior, we'll head outside to check if there's any more damage," Ronald said, nudging Kane.

"Are you serious? What if there are even scarier creatures out there?" Kane muttered, a bit scared.

"Do we have any other choice? Besides, why are you scared? You're young and strong, I'm old I should be the one worried," Ronald said, punching Kane lightly on the back.

"Man up, dude. What's the point of having a strong body if you don't even have the courage to fight?" Ronald laughed while Kane rubbed his back in pain.

"Will you two please stop joking around and get back to work?" Liana snapped, glaring at them.

Kane and Ronald made a weid face but quickly got back to work when Liana's glare intensified.

As they focused on their tasks, Arik suddenly dashed out from behind the cabinets, looking excited.

"I'm going outside!" Arik announced loudly, not giving anyone a chance to react before he quickly opened the ship's door and stepped out.

"Why is he so excited?" Ronald asked, watching Arik run out.

"Maybe it's fighting that slime that got him so fucked up," Liana said, looking worried.

"Well, worrying won't help us now. Let's just finish fixing the ship and get out of here," Kane said, trying to comfort her.

"You're right," Liana replied, focusing on her cleaning. Ronald and Kane resumed their work as well.

Meanwhile, outside, Arik was running around. [I don't feel any faster. Maybe I should try jumping.] He thought, attempting a jump, but it was pretty average.

[Damn, I haven't improved at anything,] Arik thought, punching a nearby tree. [Ouch! The tree didn't even budge. So, it's not strength or endurance,] he realized, sitting down on the grassy ground.

[I should read the screen again. Figuring this out randomly is hard.] Arik scanned the area, looking for the blue floating screen.

*System Interface Initiated*

Welcome, First Tamer of Archeon. You have bonded with the Slime Species.

Status: Beast Tamer Primus

Ability Unlocked: Universal Taming

Special Privilege: Evolution Path Unlocked

> Continue

[What does this even mean? I've bonded with a slime species. Can I tame them or something? Wait, I didn't notice the 'Continue' option before. Maybe I need to click that to accept it,] Arik thought as he clicked Continue.

*Congratulations!*

You have now accepted your role as Beast Tamer Primus.

[Okay, I don't feel any different] Arik thought, checking his hands and legs for any changes.

*Currently Bonded Species:*

> Slime

Level of Bond: 1

*Bond with more members of the species to unlock abilities.*

[This is confusing. It's like a game. Damn, if I'd played more games instead of studying biology, I'd understand this system better] Arik thought, clicking his tongue.

[I just need to keep trying until something happens.]

*Level of Bonds:*

1 → Allows you to give commands to the species

2 → Allows you to summon members of the species

3 → Allows you to fuse with the species and use their abilities

4 (Special Primus Status) → Allows you to evolve the species

[I think I get it now. I still have questions, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. I was so excited I didn't even question how I got this thing in the first place.]

*I am A.C.P.H.S. I have been embedded to assist the inhabitants of Archeon.*

[WTF, this thing talks like an AI,] Arik thought, laughing, but his smile quickly turned into a look of fear.

[Wait, why didn't I think of this before? What if some super-intelligent life form designed this?] Arik's fear increased, and he rushed back to the ship, closing the door behind him.

"Hey, Arik, you alright?" Kane asked, noticing Arik's worried expression.

"Yeah, just saw a few more slimes. I'll help you guys now," Arik said, trying to sound casual as he joined Kane and Ronald.

"Are you dumb? Do you know anything about ships? How are you going to help us? Go join Liana and help her clean," Ronald said, lightly slapping Arik's head.

"Hey, Ronald, be nicer. You might have been important on Earth or Mars, but here, where money doesn't count, you're dependent on us. So be more polite," Liana said angrily, clearly not happy by Ronald's rude tone.

"That's not necessarily true, but let me say this the ship is probably the most important thing right now. After Kane, I know the most about it," Ronald replied, running his hand through his hair, clearly proud of his response.

"Ronald, please just keep quiet and keep working. Do you want to stay on this planet forever? And Liana, give him some credit, he's the reason we could leave Earth in the first place," Kane said, trying to avoid anonther argument.

Ronald smirked and went back to his work. Liana gave him a disgusted look before resuming her cleaning.

Arik quietly joined Liana, helping her scrub the bloodstains off the floor.

"Thanks for standing up for me, but it's alright. It doesn't bother me," Arik said, giving Liana a warm smile.

"I bet you were bullied in school. You need to stand up for yourself. If you let them treat you like a pushover, it'll only inflate their egos and make things worse," Liana replied, her cheeks turning slightly red. "And no need to thank me, we're basically friends."

"We're friends? Wow, I didn't know that," Arik said, laughing.

"So, you don't want to be my friend? Sucks to be you because you're stuck with me," Liana teased, pinching his arm.

"I was just joking. Of course, I want to be your friend. You're confident, smart, and beautiful," Arik said, looking into Liana's eyes.

"Someone's getting confident," Liana said, clapping her hands.

"Eugh, so cringe! Get back to work, you two. You can flirt later," Ronald interrupted, sticking his tongue out. Kane rolled his eyes, expecting an argument to start.

To his surprise, it didn't. Liana looked annoyed but didn't say anything, occasionally smiling at Arik as she resumed her work, occasionally smiling at Arik.

Arik, however, focused intensely on cleaning, as if his life depended on it. [I need to get out of here quickly. This place feels weird. For some reason, I feel relaxed here,] he thought.

[Now that I think about it, no one here is freaking out. We're on a strange planet, we just saw weird creatures, and everyone's acting like it's normal.]

[Maybe I'm overthinking it, but something feels off about this place,] Arik thought, his hands trembling slightly with fear as he continued scrubbing, doing his best to stay calm.